Another bad veteran's charity

[ralphc1]

A Vietnam veteran's charity that only about 2% actually goes to charitable causes. Technically veterans do benefit because the 2 people who run it are veterans who pay themselves well. The founder is a lawyer for the VA and a veteran. Apparently some of the money might have paid for parking for his Rolls Royce.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/16/politics/vietnam-veterans-charity/index.html

It looks like more news organizations are checking charities. The problem is that the charity will be running for up to 2 years before statements are available.

It seems that many charities are started to enrich their founders. There are existing charities for almost everything so I'm wary of any new charities.

 

[YoungBoyd]

These guys belong in jail.

 

[sub_thug]

That sucks. There are some really bad charities out there. The only military charities that I donate to are Army Emergency Relief and Special Operations Warrior Foundation. I used to give to the Green Beret Foundation, but I found that less of the money went to guys than with SOWF. I recommend AER and SOWF if you are looking to give to a military charity.

 

[Bagatur]

most charities are like that. only a small amount goes to the cause. even so-called non-profit ones.

 

[Protectandserve]

Fisher House is a good one too. They stepped up during the 2013 government shutdown to make sure families got money for funeral service flights for their fallen soldiers when the government didn't give a shit.

 

[SMillard]

before you give to any charity ask or look up how much actually goes to the actual charity and how much is "administrative" costs. Usually when I ask on the phone they just hang up on me. For me anything more than 25% for operating expenses is too much. No company I've ever worked for has had an operating expense above 25%, if they do they won't last long. Charities that do are either inept, corrupt or a combination of the two.

I had one call me telling me they were a veterans charity, but I'd never heard of them. So I told them "great, I'm a veteran. what do you have for me?" the woman stuttered for a second then hung up.

 

[BisexualMMA]

They really need to tighten up legislation on charities. If an organization wants the benefits of charitable status, the % of funds that goes to administrative costs should be capped or that protection is lost, and there should maybe be an indexed cap on employee / director remuneration.

Otherwise, if they want to run it like a corporation, they should be treated like a corporation.

 

[King of Fists]

As a veteran myself, I have to say there are better charitable uses of your money than veteran's charities.

If you really want to be charitable, donate to some of the charities fighting hunger and disease in africa, there are families and children starving and dying due to lack of basic medications. They need your help way more than the child of a spec ops soldier needs their college tuition paid for.

 

[ralphc1]

They really need to tighten up legislation on charities. If an organization wants the benefits of charitable status, the % of funds that goes to administrative costs should be capped or that protection is lost, and there should maybe be an indexed cap on employee / director remuneration.

Otherwise, if they want to run it like a corporation, they should be treated like a corporation.

If anyone is making over $50k/year to run a charity, I don't consider it a charity. I think it should be considered a business.

I stopped contributing to the Red Cross when I found out what their CEO makes. 2010 was the latest year I could find but it was $651,957 plus expenses.

The Red Cross claimed a 91% benefit rate but an investigation showed it was much lower.

It's really difficult to know what these charities are doing. As I said, the reports are a couple of years behind. A charity that was doing the right things can boost salaries and nobody knows about it until 2 years later. In that time, a couple of people could collect millions. Even some of the charities that distribute a large amount of the donations they receive, the places they give the money to can raise questions. Some give to other charities. Some charities are set up to bounce donations back and forth and take a percentage out of it each time. Some people collect paychecks from multiple charities.

My dad had contributed to the Alzheimers Society for years and when he started showing signs of the disease, I called to see what kind of help they had available. It's basically nothing for those who have the disease. They tell you they work on legislation and research.

 

[ralphc1]

As a veteran myself, I have to say there are better charitable uses of your money than veteran's charities.

If you really want to be charitable, donate to some of the charities fighting hunger and disease in africa, there are families and children starving and dying due to lack of basic medications. They need your help way more than the child of a spec ops soldier needs their college tuition paid for.

That's another area where you don't know where the money really goes. Gene Simmons went to Africa to find places to fund to avoid the charities. I think he funds some schools and villages.

Feeding starving people so they can have more children that they can't feed seems counterproductive.

 

[King of Fists]

That's another area where you don't know where the money really goes. Gene Simmons went to Africa to find places to fund to avoid the charities. I think he funds some schools and villages.

I think you should investigate ANY charity before donating

http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=7004#.VztLrsspBnE

Feeding starving people so they can have more children that they can't feed seems counterproductive.

Maybe you should look up the meaning of "charity," because I don't think you know what it means. The idea that feeding a starving child is a worthless endeavor because someday they might becoming an adult of little means is pretty much the opposite of charity.

 

[Deleted member 409801]

This new trend of getting asked to donate to some charity at every transaction you make is really starting to grind my gears.

Puts groceries on conveyor belt

" would like to donate to de- louse somalian refugees today?"

Putting you on the spot in front of the every one within earshot

Shit , just seems inappropriate to me.

 

[ralphc1]

I think you should investigate ANY charity before donating

http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=7004#.VztLrsspBnE



Maybe you should look up the meaning of "charity," because I don't think you know what it means. The idea that feeding a starving child is a worthless endeavor because someday they might becoming an adult of little means is pretty much the opposite of charity.

Charities need to help people get out of the situations they are in not enable them to continue. People need to move to where they have the ability to sustain themselves or decrease the population to the point where they can exist where they live.

I prefer to give to local organizations that are run by volunteers or hourly employees.

Charity Navigator has been questioned for the methods it uses to rate charities because it only uses one years records. The people that run it also get paid. A charity that was doing the right thing in 2014 might have given the CEO a huge raise in 2015 that Charity Navigator won't report until 2017.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charity_Navigator

 

[ralphc1]

This new trend of getting asked to donate to some charity at every transaction you make is really starting to grind my gears.

Puts groceries on conveyor belt

" would like to donate to de- louse somalian refugees today?"

Putting you on the spot in front of the every one within earshot

Shit , just seems inappropriate to me.

I find it easy to say no to those things. It's also one of the reasons more shopping is being done online.

 

[Zankou]

So many charities are scams. There are websites that explain the good ones. People shouldn't be tempted by the precious uniqueness of specific charities. The ones focused on military vets, police, and firefighters are the absolute worst ....rampant fraud. Often they are even authorized by local police or firefighter orgs, who figure any money is good, even though they are scams that are bilking the public and paying pennies to the beneficiaries.

 

[King of Fists]

Charities need to help people get out of the situations they are in not enable them to continue. People need to move to where they have the ability to sustain themselves or decrease the population to the point where they can exist where they live.

So by your definition, any charity or relief organization that exists solely to provide food or medical supplies to children in war-torn countries is "not doing its job" because it's not doing anything directly to help people move to a different country?

And I'm really curious what charities you donate to, I hope it's not a local soup kitchen which by your definition is only "enabling homeless people to continue to be homeless"

 

[Deleted member 409801]

I find it easy to say no to those things. It's also one of the reasons more shopping is being done online.

I do to , it's just irritating to be put into the position in the first place. Sunday for example a made a quick trip to Kroger and the had some kids set up out front begging for money to finance some basketball trip , so they hit you coming and going , AND at the checkout. It's a minor annoyance.........but an annoyance non the less.

 

[Stargazer Rex]

 

[drstrangelov]

If anyone is making over $50k/year to run a charity, I don't consider it a charity. I think it should be considered a business.

I stopped contributing to the Red Cross when I found out what their CEO makes. 2010 was the latest year I could find but it was $651,957 plus expenses.

The Red Cross claimed a 91% benefit rate but an investigation showed it was much lower.

It's really difficult to know what these charities are doing. As I said, the reports are a couple of years behind. A charity that was doing the right things can boost salaries and nobody knows about it until 2 years later. In that time, a couple of people could collect millions. Even some of the charities that distribute a large amount of the donations they receive, the places they give the money to can raise questions. Some give to other charities. Some charities are set up to bounce donations back and forth and take a percentage out of it each time. Some people collect paychecks from multiple charities.

My dad had contributed to the Alzheimers Society for years and when he started showing signs of the disease, I called to see what kind of help they had available. It's basically nothing for those who have the disease. They tell you they work on legislation and research.

Why does the salary of the company head matter? I get the concerns about all the donations going to some sketchy executives gaming people, but if the guy is running multibillion dollar organization, a mid 6 figure salary isn't crazy, considering there's no additional compensation. You get what you pay for, and a secretary's wage isn't going to bring in a competent person to run an organization of that size.

 

[Dogstarman]

I don't give to charities because of stories like this. I do donate clothing and food to shelters and and other outlets like that, but straight up giving money is something I stopped doing long ago.